i never saw the light pink belly when my girl first went into shed. my daughter was looking at her on the bed (i had her out cuz i was cleaning the cage a little) and said her eyes were blueish silver, that got my attention and i picked her up and looked and sure enough they were very blue/silver, then i looked at the skin and noticed it was very dull so i turned her over and her belly was dark pink. i was like "AHA no wonder you've been so cranky!"
and you guys are talking about handling every day and all that...doesnt that stress them out?
i only handle my girl for 15 minutes 2 x's per week and not during shed or the 3 days after a meal.